The present disclosure is generally directed to power adapters for mobile phones and other electronic devices, and more particularly to a power adapter that can be inserted and selectively secured into a standard outlet socket.
With the ubiquitous presence of electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and laptop computers, and the current state of battery and charging technology, users of such devices are often in need of solutions for charging the batteries and powering up such devices while they are outside of their home or in a public or shared space. Some public or private accommodations offer the use of wireless charging stations, but these are often only compatible with a small subset of devices.
Offering charging solutions for a larger range of devices typically involves leaving power adapters plugged into a wall outlet in an unsecured manner. Power adapters that are plugged in but not secured may be accidentally removed from the outlet, or may be purposely removed and stolen or broken. The connections and cords may also be removed from the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of unsecured adapters, and stolen or broken. Alternately, adapters may be secured with means that are not specifically designed for such adapters and thus are unwieldy or easily overcome.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,147,973 describes an “enclosure for wall charger” that allows a power adapter to be secured to a wall outlet and a power cord to be secured to the enclosure. The device described is a plastic casing that is molded to go over a PSU. The device described suffers from the drawbacks of only being compatible with specific devices (principally Apple's iPhone) and power adapters due to the shape and size of the enclosure. The device described also suffers from the drawbacks of only allowing for one orientation when inserted into a wall socket due to the presence of only a single fastening tab for securing the enclosure to a wall socket, and requiring additional equipment such as a zip tie in order to secure a power adapter cord.
It would be useful to have a power adapter that can be secured into a wall socket and can optionally secure a power cord, without the drawbacks of existing securing solutions.